York County company owner bilked investors to the tune of $400,000

A former Glen Rock man living in Utah will go to jail for more than three years and pay more than $400,000 in restitution for bilking investors in a business he ran out of his York County home.

Christopher A. Engel, 34, ran Pinnacle Forex Group LLC, a home-based currency trading firm, and took in $411,500 from 21 investors intended to be invested in the Foreign Exchange Market (Forex). He had moved from the area and was living in Washington, Utah, at the time of his arrest.

U.S. Attorney Peter Smith said the company advertised itself as a “full scale currency investment firm,” but Engel invested only about $137,000 of the money he collected. He later withdrew those funds for personal expenses — just like the remaining funds — Smith said in a news release.

He started the company in 2010 and took the investments in question between June 2011 and October 2012, Smith said.

U.S. Judge Yvette Kane of the Middle District of Pennsylvania sentenced Engel to 38 months in jail and ordered him to pay $405,500 in restitution.

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Michael Sadowski

Mike Sadowski covers Lebanon County, banking and finance, law and the legal community, and technology. Have a tip or question for him? Email him at michaels@cpbj.com. Follow him on Twitter, @MikeCPBJ.
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